World English Bible · Under Rome
1 Peter 2
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Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that with it you may grow, if indeed you have tasted that is . Come to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by , precious. You also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a priesthood, to offer up spiritual , acceptable to through . Because it is contained in , "Behold, I lay in a , chosen and precious. He who believes in him will not be disappointed." For you who therefore is the , but for those who are , "The stone which the builders rejected has become the ," and, "a stumbling stone and a of offense." For they stumble at the word, being , to which also they were appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a nation, a people for own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of into his marvelous . In the past, you were not a people, but now are , who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as and pilgrims to abstain from lusts which war against the , having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as , they may see your good works and in the day of visitation. Therefore subject yourselves to every of man for sake: whether to the king, as supreme, or to governors, as sent by him for on and for to those who do well. For this is the will of , that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Live as free people, yet not using your for a cloak of wickedness, but as of . all men. Love the brotherhood. . the king. Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to . For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of toward . For what is it if, when you , you patiently beating? But if when you do well, you patiently suffering, this is commendable with . For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps, who didn't , "neither was deceit found in his ." When he was , he didn't back. When he suffered, he didn't threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. He himself bore our in his body , that we, having to , might live to . You were healed by his wounds. For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the and Overseer of your .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.